The irony was striking.
'Young Maverick wanted to fight crimes. He vowed to fight crime—but here he was, having transformed into a criminal instead,' Melody thought, the weight of that realization hitting her hard.
She was now aware of how much she had missed, how little she understood the journey that had led him to this point. The Maverick she remembered was a person of virtue in their town; everyone who knew him knew he was a child with a bright future. He was regarded as their hero since little.
But the man standing before her was familiar, and yet a stranger to her.
She wondered what could have pushed him to abandon his noble aspirations in favor of a life of crime?
She needed to know. Now that she already knew what their relationship was, she wanted to hear what had happened after she had left the town and what had led him to this point because she didn't like what she was seeing at all. Everyone back at Milltown would be bewildered if they were to hear a whiff of it.
Maverick, however, was lost in the moment, his heart racing as he faced her. Years of separation melted away, and for the first time in ages, he felt genuine happiness. The joy of reuniting with her was overwhelming, and words couldn't capture the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside him.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward and enveloped her in a firm embrace. His heart thumping in his chest.
Melody was taken by surprise, momentarily speechless.
"I've missed you," he asserted, pressing a kiss into her hair. The warmth of his gesture washed over her, stirring something deep within.
Maverick, in that moment, remained blissfully unaware of how quickly things were moving. All he cared about was being reunited with her, and the exhilaration of that feeling was undeniable.
Despite the darkness that had clouded his recent history, being with Melody felt like a beacon of hope in his turbulent life. After a long stretch of chaos, her presence soothed his restless soul—she was the blessing he never thought he deserved.
Everything clicked into place. Suddenly, he understood why she lingered in his thoughts, why she held such power over him. She was the one who stirred feelings that had been buried for quite a while.
He felt her tension as he held her. She was completely stiff and still processing things, his sudden hug.
Melody finally wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest, allowing memories of their shared past to wash over her.
If only their reunion could have come under better circumstances, free from the shadows that now surrounded him.
If only.
They pulled apart, and Maverick hand still lingered on her arms, looking directly into her eyes with an expression of longing, and perhaps, love that refused to waver.
The air between them was thick with unspoken words, and Melody felt the tension climbing; moments ago, she had treated him coldly, unaware of the history they shared.
"You vanished without a word. Do you have any idea how desperately I searched for you?" Maverick's tone was firm, every syllable carrying the weight of his frustration.
"I heard your aunt was the one who took you to the city. I was heartbroken, Melody. My best friend left without saying goodbye, and I had no way of reaching you," he pressed, his usual stoicism giving way to the warmth she had always seen in him. In that moment, she could feel an undeniable truth—it was still him, the Maverick she knew.
"My aunt moved me here for better opportunities. I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye; it all happened so fast," she replied, steadiness lacing her voice despite the bittersweet ache in her chest.
Maverick inhaled deeply, allowing the gravity of their past to sink in. "What truly matters is that we're finally together again. I've missed you more than words can express," he declared, stepping in for another embrace that took Melody by surprise once again.
She was unaccustomed to such warmth from a man, but she surrendered to the moment, reminding herself that she was simply reconnecting with an old friend.
To break the tension, she responded, "Me too," though a hesitant, "I guess," lingered unspoken in her mind.
Maverick felt fulfilled as he held melody, his dearest close to his heart. He silently wished that time could remain still for them, that he could remain in this position till eternity. Melody, however, could feel his heartbeat ringing in her ears and she wondered why it was beating this way.
The moment of connection was abruptly disrupted by the loud ring of the doorbell, shattering the atmosphere like glass. Melody drew back, shaking off the intensity of their embrace. "Someone's at the door" she said to him.
"I'll take care of it. Stay here," Maverick replied with confidence, giving her a smile as he turned toward the living room.
He made his way to the entrance, his gaze shifting towards the dashcam that showed an unwelcome figure lurking outside, clearly interrupting their moment.
Maverick gritted his teeth.
Who was this guy and why had he chosen to come now?
He opened the door eventually.
Maverick's gaze landed on a man with dark hair, he was tall, but Maverick was taller than him and was basically looking down at the man. A scowl plastered across the man's face as their gaze met.
The stranger's scrutinizing gaze was filled with hostility, and Maverick returned the gesture by sizing him up, ready for whatever confrontation was about to start.
"Who are you?" The man demanded, his voice laced with challenge.
Maverick met his gaze unwaveringly. "And Who are you?" he inquired, his tone low and cool as he ignored the person's question and responded with another question. The air between them was charged with tension as they faced each other.
Melody who was in the room remained standing with curiousity rising to the surface. She wondered what was taking him so long to get the door.
She stepped out of her room, shutting the door before walking across the living room. "Who is there?" She asked, as she approached Maverick, curious about why he was lingering at the door.
Stepping out from behind Maverick, her eyes landed on the person by the door.
Melody's eyes widened in surprise when they landed on him.
"Ethan?" she exclaimed, unable to mask her disbelief at seeing him standing at her door that morning.
Ethan, however, shot a glare from Melody to Maverick.
Why the hell was a man in her house?